National Education Association
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The National Education Association (NEA) is the largest union of teachers in the United States. It has 2.7 million members who teach every level of education from nursery school to University level. It is headquartered in Washington DC, and has an annual operating budget of around $150 million. Reg Weaver is the current president. Traditionally a professional organization, it is not a member of the AFL-CIO, unlike its smaller rival the American Federation of Teachers (AFT).
History
The NEA was founded by Robert Campbell as the National Teachers Association in 1850, and changed to its present name in 1857. It was chartered by Congress in 1906.
In 1998, a proposed merger with AFT failed when that union's annual meeting rejected it. The two organizations supposedly continue to cooperate through the "NEAFT Partnership."
Politics
In recent decades the NEA has greatly increased its visibility in party politics and political issues. In choosing to issue endorsements for Democratic Party candidates for president of the United States and aligning its vast resources overwhelmingly behind that party's candidates at all levels it has come in for criticism by members and others at odds with its political evolution.
In addition, activist positions taken against many of the education reforms of Republican administrations have led to conflict. On February 23, 2004, United States Secretary of Education Rod Paige called the NEA a "terrorist organization" over the union's position on the No Child Left Behind initiative of the George W. Bush administration and its opposition to other reforms favored by the Republicans. Secretary Paige later claimed he was only joking, but the NEA called for Paige's resignation.
Charges of partisan political activity have led to demands for investigation regarding the use of union monies and its compliance with Internal Revenue Service regulations.
External Links
- Official NEA website (http://www.nea.org/)
- The History of the NEA (http://www.nea.org/neatimeline.html)
- infoplease article (http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/society/A0834941.html)
- Petition to fire Paige over the terrorist remark (http://www.firepaige.org/)
- USA Today article on NEA politics (http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/nation/president/2004-07-05-nea-kerry_x.htm)Template:Org-stub